Fancy being a Lady of the Castle for a night? Joining in a jousting tournament? Taking part in a medieval feast? Youth Hostels make it all possible. Without making old and new contradictory: More than 30 old castles and stately homes have been transformed into modern Youth Hostels. Behind historic facades, you will often find state-of-the-art interiors, rooms with en-suite showers and toilets, a cosy cafeteria and common rooms that leave nothing to be desired.

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Modern accommodation behind ancient walls

Using them as Youth Hostels helps preserve these heritage buildings, some of which are centuries old. Among them are medieval fortresses with battlements and towers, such as Burg Altena or Burg Stahleck/Bacharach (Rhineland-Palatinate). The Saxon Schloss Augustusburg Youth Hostel and the new European Youth Hostel at Colditz Castle dwell in stately homes from the renaissance era. Schloss Ortenberg (Baden Württemberg) is a picture book castle in neo-gothic style. Some of the time-honoured buildings tower high above the city, such as Veitsburg Youth Hostel in Ravensburg (Baden Württemberg).

Some of them are located above a river valley, such as Burg Wildenstein Youth Hostel on the Danube or Burg Rothenfels Youth Hostel on the Main. Sometimes they are surrounded by idyllic landscapes, such as Burg Breuberg Youth Hostel (Hesse), sometimes by a moat, such as the Wasserburg Youth Hostel in Heldrungen in Thuringia. Others again are located centrally: Wittenberg Youth Hostel (Saxony-Anhalt) is located in the city palace and Bautzen Youth Hostel (Saxony) in the bastion of the old town fortification. Burg Trausnitz Youth Hostel in Bavaria is the perfect location for exciting time travel, fun medieval games and hearty knights' evenings. At Passau Youth Hostel you'll stay in one of Europe's largest castle complexes.